This invention relates to a process for the preparation of a culture of acid-resistant bifidobacteria, to the culture thus obtained and to the use of this culture for the preparation of food products containing acid-resistant bifidobacteria.
Bifidobacteria are known as indicators or even guarantors of a healthy intestinal flora in sucklings. However, their use in a viable form for dietetic purposes, for example in products of the acidified milk type, such as for example yogurts, is attended by known difficulties, such as their sensitivity to oxygen and to acid. Certain strains have already been proposed which have a high resistance to oxygen and even a considerable resistance to acid. However, the most resistant known bifidobacteria survive hardly more than a few days or even a week at the pH-values shown by acidified milks, such as yogurts for example, during their storage in refrigerators.